Yangzijiang Shipbuilding leads gains; STI up 0.2%
[SINGAPORE] The local bourse started the week on a positive note, contrary to cautious sentiments in regional markets.
The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.2 per cent or 6.37 points to 4,276.07 on Monday (Sep 1). Across the broader market, gainers beat losers 313 to 225, after 1.4 billion securities worth S$1.3 billion changed hands.
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding led the gains among the STI constituents, up 6.5 per cent or S$0.19 to S$3.10, after it announced new orders worth US$920 million.
Venture Corporation was the biggest decliner, down 2.4 per cent or S$0.33 at S$13.25 on a cum dividend basis.
Regional markets closed mixed while investors await the August US jobs report that will have a significant bearing on the possibility of a September rate cut. A softening labour market is seen as pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut rates, provided inflation remains contained.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.2 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.4 per cent, but Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index grew 2.2 per cent.
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Christian Gattiker, head of research at Julius Baer, wrote in a note on Monday that the US non-farm payrolls report on Friday will anchor the week and shape expectations ahead of the Federal Reserve’s September meeting.
“A print near July’s modest 73,000 gain, coupled with a higher unemployment rate, could keep hopes alive for a rate cut – but will not make the case decisive,” he noted.
Meanwhile, political risks cloud market outlooks in South-east Asia’s largest economy. Indonesia’s Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index dropped 1.2 per cent on Monday after heightened protests over the weekend.
OCBC’s senior Asean economist Lavanya Venkateswaran and Asean economist Ahmad Enver highlighted the uncertainty over “defining changes in policy direction” by President Prabowo Subianto’s administration, given the protests.
“We maintain our 2025 GDP growth forecast of 4.7 per cent (for Indonesia) and continue to expect another 25 basis-point rate cut from Bank Indonesia for the rest of this year,” they wrote in a note.
